Bed Bug Infestation- How do I know if I have bed bugs?

Bedbugs the great hitchhikers they are, can easily transfer to your home through various ways- such as your clothing, bags, luggage, visitors and used furniture to name a few. While there are some symptoms of bed bug infestations, they are not always as easily identifiable through a manual inspection, particularly in a lower level bed bug infestation.

If you are experiencing bites but have not seen any bugs, you should consider the circumstances in which the bites are occurring. For example, there is a very good chance that you have a bed bug infestation if you are waking up each morning with bite symptoms on your body that were not present when you went to sleep. A situation like this would be a good reason to investigate the possibility that bed bugs are present. in the car, at work, etc. are much less likely to be caused by bed bugs. It is also important to realize that just because you have looked for bed bugs and could not find them, does not mean that they are not there. These insects lead a very cryptic and secretive lifestyle and will often go undetected. It is best to have a highly trained professional conduct the inspection for you.

Occasionally you may see evidence of a bed bug infestation without actually seeing any bed bugs. Bed bugs leave fecal stains in the areas they inhabit. These stains are actually partially digested blood but remember that it will not be red unless you crush a bed bug that has just recently fed. As the blood is digested it turns black and therefore the bed bug droppings usually consist of several black spots in one area. The fecal spots will not flake off if rubbed and will smear if wiped with a wet rag

Inspection for a bed bug infestation

Professional inspection may be done by a person or by a bed bug-sniffing dog and its handler. Dogs have a powerful sense of smell and can be trained to find bed bugs (which do give off an odor). They’re best used to find infestations. If used to tell whether bed bugs are gone, they may find old evidence rather than fresh. If you hire a handler and dog, be sure they’re accredited and ask questions about the handler/dog relationships, whether they can detect live from dead bed bugs and whether they follow-up to find visual evidence of a bed bug infestation after the dog alerts.

If you find bed bugs at home, it’s best to keep sleeping in the bed—or try to find someone who will sleep there. Packing up to spend time elsewhere could bring bugs to an un-infested area. And the bugs could move to neighboring rooms in search of a meal.

It is important to remember that no one detection tool or method is every 100% effective, so using a combination of methods to deal with a bed bug infestation is always recommended